Nearly 10,000 voter IDs found in Bengaluru apartment, EC orders probe

May 09, 2018 08:42

Nearly 10,000 voters ID cards were found at a rented apartment of a Congress lawmaker in North Bangalores R R Nagar area late on Tuesday night, leading to a probe by the Election Commission.

In the late night drama, 9,746 voter IDs and two trunks of 'counter papers' (similar to acknowledgement) were found at the apartment of Munirathna Congress MLA Manjula Nanjamari, following which Karnatakas Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar held a press conference and said that the the IDs appear to belong to slum-dwellers of the area.

An investigation is being conducted by the district electoral officer and three observers, Kumar said, adding that over one lakh chits that looked like counter foils of elections were found but not all are genuine. He said that the probe will ascertain the significance of the chits.

Highlighting the seriousness of the matter, the chief electoral officer further said that the number of voters in R R Nagar is "quite high" compared to the state average. "There are 4,35,439 voters in main rolls of RR Nagar. This poll has seen a rise of 44,837," he said.

The late night revelation sent Congress into a huddle with party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala addressing a press conference on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.

"The Election Commission has clearly said that Congress legislator Manjula Nanjamari had rented the flat to her son Rakesh, who contested the 2015 BBMP elections on BJP ticket. As you can see in the this picture, BJP MLA candidate Muniraj Gowda is with BJP leader Rakesh -- the man in whose flat voter IDs were recovered. BJP's lies stand exposed," Surjewala said.

As the matter escalated, former prime minister and JD-S chief H D Deve Gowda visited the place where the probe was being conducted and asked the chief electoral officer to take "suitable action", while Union parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar demanded to postpone the election to R R Nagar seat. Kumar said that he also wants polls in Badami to be conducted under vigil of paramilitary forces as IT raids saw huge cash seizures in the area.

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

Modi indulges in fear-mongering post Phase 2 washout: Congress

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions for the prime minister ahead of his rallies in Karnataka.

Delhi Cong chief Arvinder Singh Lovely quits party over tie-up with AAP

In his letter to the Congress National President, Mallikarjun Kharge, Lovely said that all unanimous decisions taken by the senior Delhi Congress leaders have been unilaterally vetoed by the AICC general secretary (Delhi in-charge).

Will be on path of nation first: Poonam Mahajan after BJP denies ticket

In the post on X, Mahajan said, "I will be indebted to the family-like people from Mumbai North Central who treated me not just as an MP but gave me affection like a daughter."

Sandeep Sharma Takes 200th T20 Wicket!

Rajasthan seamers did well to keep LSG down to under 200 before Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel guided the team home.

Who Is Rasikh Salam Dar?

Rasikh Salam Dar emerged as Delhi Capitals' hero with the ball, with excellent figures of 3/34.